Busan – Dezeenhttps://www.dezeen.com
architecture and design magazineSat, 10 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.1Architect K builds concrete home called Alley's Adventures in Wonder Househttps://www.dezeen.com/2016/03/21/architect-k-concrete-home-busan-south-korea-alleys-adventures-wonder-house/
https://www.dezeen.com/2016/03/21/architect-k-concrete-home-busan-south-korea-alleys-adventures-wonder-house/#commentsMon, 21 Mar 2016 08:00:42 +0000http://admin.dezeen.com/?p=869634The curved form of this expansive concrete house in Busan, South Korea, is designed by Architect K to match the irregularly shaped buildings built by refugees during the Korean War (+ slideshow). During the war, which took place between 1950 and 1953, Busan was the biggest refugee destination on the Korean peninsula. According to Architect K,

]]>The curved form of this expansive concrete house in Busan, South Korea, is designed by Architect K to match the irregularly shaped buildings built by refugees during the Korean War (+ slideshow).

During the war, which took place between 1950 and 1953, Busan was the biggest refugee destination on the Korean peninsula. According to Architect K, the mountain topography forced refugees in the city to build curved dwellings, which in turn created a network of winding alleys around them.

The South Korean firm tried to emulate these forms in this new 450-square-metre property. It is named Songdo House, although the design team calls it Alley's Adventures in Wonder House, in reference to these curves.

"Now, 65 years after the Korean War, the irregular houses' urban fabric becomes a unique feature of Busan," said studio founder Kichul Lee.

"Songdo House is a project to compose city alleys in a space," he explained. "In the mass, alleys and spaces coexist. Users can constantly combine new routes with the alleys in the house."

The building encompasses four storeys, connected by eight staircases. Two floors are located above ground level, while the other two are set into the slope of the landscape, so are visible only at the southwest end of the site.

The curved floor plan allows the building to bend around from the hillside to face the seafront. It also frames a large garden to the south, featuring several terraces for residents.

Lee and his team chose reinforced concrete to create the ambitious structure, and left it exposed throughout.

The material was cast against different types of formwork, resulting in a mix of smooth, woodgrain and bamboo-ridged surfaces.

Other materials used include basalt bricks and metal panels. The aim was to give the building a monotonous aesthetic.

"These materials provide the flow of circulations and highlight the alleys in the spaces, therefore the spaces of programmes are defined by them," said the architect.

The majority of living spaces are located on the two upper levels.

The first of these accommodates an open-plan lounge, dining area and kitchen, featuring a double-height space.

This floor also contains a master bedroom suite, including a large dressing room, a grand bathroom fronting a private courtyard, and a separate toilet and washroom.

The uppermost floor contains more bedrooms, along with a library and a home cinema.

There is also a spacious party room, accessed via a bridge above the master bedroom's courtyard.

On the first of the two semi-underground levels, the architects added a small public gallery, which sits in front of numerous utility rooms.

"Ocean Gallery, which can be open to the public, will act as a beneficial cultural element in the dense commercial area," said Lee. "Inside and outside spaces of the house are filled with views of nature and a recreation programme."

The lowest floor functions as a car park, with space for up to nine cars. It is accessed via a ramp.

]]>https://www.dezeen.com/2016/03/21/architect-k-concrete-home-busan-south-korea-alleys-adventures-wonder-house/feed/3JMY Architects combines living and retail spaces on a narrow site in Busanhttps://www.dezeen.com/2015/03/28/jmy-architects-daecheong-dong-small-house-busan-south-korea-living-retail-spaces/
https://www.dezeen.com/2015/03/28/jmy-architects-daecheong-dong-small-house-busan-south-korea-living-retail-spaces/#commentsSat, 28 Mar 2015 20:00:17 +0000http://admin.dezeen.com/?p=668986An apartment, community space and shop are accommodated in this skinny building squeezed onto a narrow plot in the South Korean city of Busan by local office JMY Architects (+ slideshow). The site for the building in Busan's Daecheong-dong district measures just five metres wide by 12 metres deep, so JMY Architects chose to combine

]]>An apartment, community space and shop are accommodated in this skinny building squeezed onto a narrow plot in the South Korean city of Busan by local office JMY Architects (+ slideshow).

The site for the building in Busan's Daecheong-dong district measures just five metres wide by 12 metres deep, so JMY Architects chose to combine the various functions by stacking them vertically.

By uniting a three-storey apartment with a commercial gallery space used by the owner, the building aims to demonstrate the potential for restricted urban sites to merge accommodation with retail and leisure activities.

"The project promotes space as a medium for urban life, where life expands toward the city and city life merges into one building," said the architects in a statement.

"It introduces a new possibility for small-scale housing and the expandability of human life as an alternative method for suburban revitalisation, rather than large-scale development projects such as new town developments."

A key challenge was to incorporate a mixed-use program while meeting regulations governing the need for appropriate distance from neighbouring buildings, as well as the requirement for a direct evacuation route.

Circulation issues are resolved by positioning a staircase at the rear of the building. The stairs are enclosed by concrete walls interrupted by openings that contain metal mesh panels.

The mesh surfaces allow light and air to reach the stairwell, which is just a few inches away from adjacent buildings on three sides.

On the ground floor, a full-height window facing the street displays the interior of the showroom space.

The entrance to the showroom is set back from the pavement below a cantilevered corner of the building.

The first floor accommodates an open-plan space that can be used by the local community. The majority of its glazed end wall is treated with a frosted finish to restrict visibility into the room from the street.

The apartment is located on the upper levels, with the master bedroom suite and small lounge on the third floor; a kitchen, dining and lounge area on the fourth floor; and a guest bedroom at the top.

Both the master bedroom and main living space culminate in glass surfaces, which incorporate doors that open onto sheltered balconies set back from the street-facing elevation.

A staircase connecting the different levels follows the boundary wall and is screened from view by frosted glazing.

A double-height void provides a visual link between the top two floors and enables the glazed end wall to extend upwards and provide better views of the sky.

The same precast concrete panels used in the stairwell are applied throughout the interior and extend onto the balconies.

]]>https://www.dezeen.com/2015/03/28/jmy-architects-daecheong-dong-small-house-busan-south-korea-living-retail-spaces/feed/2Snøhetta wins competition to design Busan Opera Househttps://www.dezeen.com/2012/10/25/snohetta-to-design-busan-opera-house/
https://www.dezeen.com/2012/10/25/snohetta-to-design-busan-opera-house/#commentsThu, 25 Oct 2012 05:00:32 +0000http://admin.dezeen.com/?p=258075News: Norwegian studio Snøhetta has won a competition to design a waterside opera house in Busan, South Korea. Just like the celebrated opera house the architects designed in Oslo, the proposed building will have a slanted roof that extends down to meet the ground, allowing visitors to climb up to a rooftop public square. Here, marble

]]>News: Norwegian studio Snøhetta has won a competition to design a waterside opera house in Busan, South Korea.

Just like the celebrated opera house the architects designed in Oslo, the proposed building will have a slanted roof that extends down to meet the ground, allowing visitors to climb up to a rooftop public square. Here, marble panels will cover the ground surface and a rooftop restaurant will offer a view towards the mountains.

The curved walls of the building will be glazed and lifted at two corners to create entrances on opposite sides.

The auditorium will be positioned at the heart of the building and will be lined with sound-absorbing cherry to enhance acoustics. Other proposed spaces include a foyer, a function room, a VIP room, rehearsal rooms, a restaurant and a staff canteen.

The Opera today not only represents our cultural identity, much more than that, it is there to form, shape and create our growing cultural awareness and manifestation. We set increasingly stronger demands to the institution; it is no longer just a passive playground for the elite but can become interactive, democratic, giving as much as it takes, responding to our ambitions and expectations. The Opera house can become the most essential cultural expression that we have in our developed urban societies.
The Opera in Busan is a place to meet, a place to be together in our common cultural context.

The Busan Opera house relies on our current experience of contemporary opera buildings, including the interactive attraction of an open and inviting typology.

Some of the functions, especially its one level and horizontal functional layout is based on Snøhettas experience of designing easy flow and communications within such a building.

The form of the Busan Opera house is derived from its own context and culture.

The basis for the lay-out refers to Kun (Heaven) meeting Kon (Earth) which again meet Kam (Water). The classical trigrams of these elements both describe this site exceptionally well, whilst they refer to the historical and philosophical relationships that are of great importance to Korean culture. The slight bending of the surfaces in Snøhetta's design are the bars of the trigrams slightly deformed to touch and meet each other in a subtle manner.

The geometry of the building consists of two opposing curves. The lower arching curve bridges the site and anchors the project in the ground. The upper embraces the sky and the Opera is created within the interplay of these surfaces, where the earth touches the sky and the mountains touch the sea. The four corners of the building connect the city and the cultural landmark to the sea. Two of these corners are lifted to form an entrance from the city and an entrance from the sea. These entrances are linked in a continuous public space, flowing around the Opera house and out into the public plaza. The upper plane is lifted on the opposite diagonal to accommodate the programmatic volume and to create an exterior plane that both arches down to the City and the sea at the same time as it peels upwards to meet the sea and the sky.

The compactness and sustainable elements of the project have great importance on economy, sustainability and long-term maintenance of the building.

Building upon the typologies we have previously developed in Oslo the Opera in Busan is changing earlier perceptions of the relationship between opera institutions and its users and the public. By designing an open, inviting and participative building typology, Busan will mark the entrance into a new era of global contemporary architecture reflecting today’s values of equality and democracies, effectively contributing to civic and cultural life on a broad level.

Snøhetta will remain loyal to our contextual and landscape oriented designs also in the future, because we believe this typology to be the most relevant connector between a contemporary public and a contemporary architecture.

Details – unpacking the box:

Soft wrapping: Spanning between the two public planes and enveloping the public functions is the soft flowing skin, offering protection and transparency to the foyer within and linking the ground plane to the roof plane in an unbroken movement. The facade is constructed of panels of glass and marble supported on a two way system of cables spanning between the upper and lower surface. The glazed panels allow for transparency and view in the more vertical sections. The Marble panels form the pedestrian surface rising to meet the roofscape above.

Auditorium: The Opera hall is conceived as a musical instrument. Precisely formed to resonate with the operatic acoustics and resonance. As with the foyer wall the auditorium is to be constructed from solid panels of Cherry wood. The less reflective and with deeper tones, these continuous surfaces envelope and surround the public in an ever changing weave of surfaces, designed precisely to reflect and resonate with the performance on stage. The choice is made for solid materials to maximise the acoustic performance. Particularly the side walls and balcony fronts change in profile and angle to best reflect and resonate with music and performance. Centrally placed above the Parterre is the main lantern. Not in use during performances, this provides an ambient light before and after performances.

Roof Level: The upper surface is a plane of reflection and contemplation set apart from the bustle of the ground. Open and accessible to all, the roof level enjoys un-rivalled views to the mountains and the ocean. This marble surface, punctuated by a grove of flowering trees is the setting for the Fly Tower Restaurant.

Level 4: The top level is dedicated to the administration. These areas enjoy views out to the rooftop atrium garden and direct vertical communication to both the Front and Back of house areas. In front of house there is a public access to the second balcony at this level.

Level 3: This level houses the Academy, rehearsal rooms and staff canteen. This allows for the contact and synergies between the rehearsals areas and the Academy. Direct vertical communication links these areas with the performance space, support areas and changing facilities.

Level 2: Here you find the VIP room. This level provides public access to the first balcony and is the location of the balcony restaurant and bar.

Level 1: This level is the location for the Function room. These facilities enjoy the views out over the foyer and direct access to the first balcony seats.

Level 0: This level is the location for main front of house foyer, restaurant and public entrance to the Parterre. The foyer space wraps around two sides of the building towards the sea. The foyer is entered either from the city side drop off, Parkside or from the Seaside board walk. The foyer provides entrance to all the main public facilities. The main conference hall provides a flexible space that can be utilised for all conference and banquet activities, as well as providing a 2nd stage option with flexible seating and stage possibilities. At level 0 Back of house contains the large rehearsal rooms, performance support, stage, stage making areas. All areas are connected to the main back of house corridor, loading dock and staff entrance.

Level -1: Back of house these levels are the location for the dressing rooms and orchestra rehearsals room. All areas connect directly by vertical communication to the stage and performance areas above. The Exhibition centre is located on this level with a direct entrance to the main foyer above. The public cloakrooms and toilets are located at this lower level.

]]>https://www.dezeen.com/2012/10/25/snohetta-to-design-busan-opera-house/feed/2Busan Cinema Centre by Coop Himmelb(l)auhttps://www.dezeen.com/2012/09/18/busan-cinema-centre-by-coop-himmelblau/
https://www.dezeen.com/2012/09/18/busan-cinema-centre-by-coop-himmelblau/#commentsTue, 18 Sep 2012 12:58:23 +0000http://admin.dezeen.com/?p=246661Architects Coop Himmelb(l)au have completed a film and theatre centre in South Korea with a steel and glass cantilever that's wider than the wings of an Airbus A380 (+ slideshow). As the home to the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), the Busan Cinema Centre sandwiches a 4000-seat outdoor cinema between the two halves of the building, while the column-free

]]>Architects Coop Himmelb(l)au have completed a film and theatre centre in South Korea with a steel and glass cantilever that's wider than the wings of an Airbus A380 (+ slideshow).

As the home to the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), the Busan Cinema Centre sandwiches a 4000-seat outdoor cinema between the two halves of the building, while the column-free roof measures 85 metres from end to end.

"Once we build architecture like aircraft wings we will no longer need columns," Coop Himmelb(l)au Principal Wolf D.Prix told Dezeen. "The cantilevered part of the roof with its 85 meters is twice as long as one wing of the Airbus 380."

LED lights glow from behind the canopy's glass underside, creating a rainbow of colours over the heads of visitors and guests arriving across the public square at the front of the complex.

A funnel-like structure punctures the roof on one side, while a ramp spirals around it to create a red carpet route into the reception hall in the south-eastern block.

A triangulated metal lattice clads this column, concealing a cafe at ground floor level and a staircase leading to a bar and restaurant above.

An indoor cinema and theatre are contained within the north-western block and are stacked on top of one another.

"The basic concept of this project was the discourse about the overlapping of open and closed spaces and of public and private areas," said Prix. "While the movie theatres are located in a mountain-like building, the centre's public space is shared between an outdoor cinema and a huge reception area."

COOP HIMMELB(L)AU’s design for the Busan Cinema Center and home of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) provides a new intersection between public space, cultural programs, entertainment, technology and architecture creating a vibrant landmark within the urban landscape.

LED saturated outdoor roof elements acting as a virtual sky connect building-objects and plaza-zones into a continuous, multifunctional public urban space.

Media, technology, entertainment and leisure are merged in an open-architecture of changeable and tailored event experiences. The result is a responsive and changing space of flows acting as an urban catalyst for cultural exchange and transformation.

Project Description

The concept envisions an urban plaza of overlapping zones including an Urban Valley, a Red Carpet Zone, a Walk of Fame and the BIFF Canal Park. The urban plaza is formed by building and plaza elements sheltered by two large roofs that are enabled with computer programmed LED outdoor ceiling surfaces. The larger of the roofs includes a column-free cantilever of 85 meters over a multifunctional Memorial Court event plaza. The urban zones of the complex are formed by individual and recognizable building objects placed below the outdoor roofs. The building objects contain theater, indoor and outdoor cinemas, convention halls, office spaces, creative studios and dining areas in a mixture of sheltered and linked indoor and outdoor public spaces. The design of these spaces supports flexible, hybrid functionality that can be used both during the annual festival period and day-to-day use without interruption.

The urban zones defined by functional surfaces in plan are further articulated in a sectional dialogue between stone-clad “ground” forms of the Cinema Mountain and BIFF Hill, and the metal and LED clad “sky” elements of the roofs. The materiality of the building objects differentiates the spaces and articulates the architectural concept. Through their shape, placement and materiality, the various parts create a dynamic and informal tension between the ground and the roof.

Architecture and Cinema – the Main Roof

The dynamic LED lighting surface covering the undulating ceilings of the outdoor roof canopies gives the Busan Cinema Center its symbolic and representative iconographic feature. Artistic lighting programs tailored to events of the BIFF or the Municipality of Busan can be created by visual artists and displayed across the ceiling in full motion graphics, creating a lively urban situation at night, but also visible during the day.

Imbedded in the architecture the lighting surfaces serve as a communication platform for the content of the Busan Cinema Center. Light as art, which is at the very nature of cinema, creates a unique and memorable atmosphere for the public urban plaza and architecture of the BCC.

Double Cone, Café and Roof Restaurant

The Double Cone is the symbolic landmark entrance element to the Busan Cinema Center and serves as the connective element between the Cinema Mountain and the BIFF Hill. Designed as a steel web drum on top of a series of radial concrete fin walls, the Double Cone also is the only vertical structural support for the large cantilevered roof acting as a large, singular column.

During day-to-day use, the ground level of the Double Cone contains a public café with outdoor seating, and the upper level links to a world-class restaurant, bar and lounge within the roof volume with views overlooking the APEC park and river beyond.

During the festival the Double Cone marks the Red Carpet Zone and VIP entrance to the “Busan Cinema Center”, and can be used as a pre-event space for VIP’s on the ground level, or as a pre-staging area for transfer to the Red Carpet procession to the outdoor cinema stage, or to the upper levels of the Cinema Mountain or BIFF Hill foyers via the red carpet spiralling ramp and bridges suspended from the roof.

Ground floor plan - click above for larger image

Cinema Mountain

The Cinema Mountain is a multifunctional building containing both a 1,000 seat multifunctional theater with fly-tower and full backstage support, and a three-screen multiplex comprised of a 400-seat and two 200-seat Cinemas. Separate entrances and foyers are provided for theater and cinema respectively, however the foyers and circulation are designed so that they can be combined depending on operational preferences.

Complete structural separation between the theater and the cinemas ensures optimal noise isolation for the theater space, which is designed as a first-class, flexible hall with seating on two levels and optimal sight lines and adjustable acoustics. A flexible proscenium type stage with side stages and fly-tower accommodates movable acoustical towers used to close down the stage volume for concerts and operatic theater, but can be easily moved for theater, musicals and other staged events. The stage includes a fore-stage lift that can provide additional seating, an orchestra pit or stage extension as preferred. Horizontally tracking curtains along the walls of the audience chamber can be hidden or deployed to adjust the acoustics of the space.

Second floor plan - click above for larger image

Urban Valley / Outdoor Cinema

The Urban Valley combines a flexible flat ground surface and large stepped tribunes of the BIFF Hill as seating for a 4,000 seat Outdoor Cinema. The Valley is sheltered by a large sculpted outdoor roof with an LED ceiling surface and is oriented towards a flexible stage and screen area on the outside of the Eastern façade of the Cinema Mountain. Accommodation for purpose built projection screens, stages, loudspeaker and lighting arrays are provided allowing for exterior performances to share the interior theater’s backstage facilities.

Third floor plan - click above for larger image

BIFF Hill

The BIFF Hill is a ground surface formation creating the tribune seating space of the outdoor cinema and accommodating the concourse, the convention hall, the BIFF-center, the BIFF-offices and the visual media center. Given the flexible organization of the ground plan, it can be easily adapted to the different requirements during festival and day-to-day usage.

Fifth floor plan - click above for larger image

Red Carpet Zone

During the BIFF festival, or for other special events, the Red Carpet Zone is created by a special drop-off and media-event processional entrance at the Double Cone entrance element. A red carpet can be extended from the Double Cone event space and photo position to the south through the park and along a pier. VIP’s can enter from limousines along the street edge, or arrive by boat from the pier. Various options are provided for the red carpet circulation from the Double Cone to the different event and performance spaces depending on the scenario preferred, including a vibrant spiralling ramp from the staging level of the event space to the VIP restaurant lounge of the upper roof or to the BIFF Hill and Cinema Mountain on upper levels of the foyers. During non-event periods the Red Carpet Zone acts as the symbolic entryway into the Busan Cinema Center complex.

Seventh floor plan - click above for larger image

Memorial Court & Walk of Fame

The Walk of Fame contains the Memorial Court as a public plaza. Our proposal is to imbed sources in the ground surface projecting holographic images of the stars, directors, producers and the like who have been made a part of the Walk of Fame. Their avatars inhabit the memorial court as permanent residents; however their programs can be changed to show variable aspects of information over time or in relation to specific BIFF- events.

During non-event times the Memorial Court is used as a grand entryway to the Cinema Mountain and contains an outdoor dining area of the Double Cone Café overlooking the park and water beyond.

Due to the column-free sheltered roof above, the public plaza of the Memorial Court is a multi-functional event space that can be utilized for BIFF- or Busan City- events without interrupting the day-to-day activities of the Busan Cinema Center, or simultaneously with other events in the additional spaces.

Long section 1 - click above for larger image

BIFF Canal Park

The BIFF Canal Park is proposed as an extension of the open network of public programs into the planned riverside park, and as a linking element between the river and the cinema complex. A new pedestrian footbridge is proposed to connect the Busan Cinema Center site with the park across the Boulevard to the South connecting the Double Cone with the APEC Park. An additional outdoor event ‘bowl’ is proposed surrounded by canals that can provide public and private boat access to the project site. Space for a future extension of the Busan Cinema Center project is proposed as an island among the canals, further integrating the cultural functions of the Busan Cinema Center project with the surrounding public space and landscape environment.

]]>https://www.dezeen.com/2012/09/18/busan-cinema-centre-by-coop-himmelblau/feed/26Asia's Tallest Mural by Hendrik Beikirchhttps://www.dezeen.com/2012/09/07/asias-tallest-mural-by-hendrik-beikirch/
https://www.dezeen.com/2012/09/07/asias-tallest-mural-by-hendrik-beikirch/#respondFri, 07 Sep 2012 14:25:11 +0000http://admin.dezeen.com/?p=243319German artist Hendrik Beikirch has painted a 70-metre-high mural of a fisherman a few blocks away from Daniel Libeskind's Haeundae I'Park skyscrapers in Busan, South Korea (+ slideshow). Beikirch's elderly fisherman represents the large number of South Koreans still working in traditional industries who have not felt the benefits of the country's rapid economic development, signified by

]]>German artist Hendrik Beikirch has painted a 70-metre-high mural of a fisherman a few blocks away from Daniel Libeskind's Haeundae I'Park skyscrapers in Busan, South Korea (+ slideshow).

Beikirch's elderly fisherman represents the large number of South Koreans still working in traditional industries who have not felt the benefits of the country's rapid economic development, signified by the glass and steel skyscrapers in the background.

Beikirch painted the mural on the side of Busan's fishing union building located between Haeundae and Gwangalli beaches. Underneath is a statement in Korean which translates as: “Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.”

The project was led by Public Delivery, a Seoul-based organisation that promotes contemporary art across Asia and Europe, who explain that Beikirch "deliberately distances himself from the polished and artificial aesthetic of advertising" usually found in public spaces.

During the last week of August 2012, German painter Hendrik Beikirch created not only a stunning work but an iconic piece that stretches over 70 metres (230 ft.) high and is yet to be considered as Asia’s tallest mural. Located in South Korea‘s second largest city, Busan, this piece showcases a monochromatic mural of a fisherman, set in contrast with the Haeundae I’Park building at the background, constructed by renowned architect Daniel Libeskind.

The Haeundae I’Park is a residential building and is also a symbol for the rapid development and accumulated wealth in Korea, a poor country not too long ago. The mural that depicts an image of a fisherman represents a significant portion of Korea‘s population that has not been affected by the economic growth and until now, lives under very different circumstances compared to their affluent neighbors.

Responsible for this project is Public Delivery, a organisation who has made waves across Asia and Europe through the promotion of contemporary art. The artwork will be on display for an indefinite period of time.

The painting

The mural presents a local fisherman in his 60s, staring into an intangible space with his face marked with wrinkles, still wearing long plastic gloves – a sign that there are still men and women like him at this age working for a living. This dying profession entails six to seven days of work in a week, under difficult circumstances, while just receiving a minimum amount of financial support, just enough to buy certain needs.

However, despite the story behind the portrait, the painting conveys a positive message seen in the emotion shown by the fisherman. In addition, underneath it, Beikirch added a statement in Korean letters which roughly translate to “Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.”

Beikirch is known for his artworks set in monochromatic and detailed painting and this is no difference. Unlike other artists, he painted this mural without using a projector or a sketch on the wall. This, in its true form, is a masterful performance and a task that requires enormous routine and outstanding precision.

The location

The painting is applied on the building of Busan‘s fishing union. It is located between Korea’s two most famous beaches, Haeundae (해운대해수욕장) and Gwangalli (광안리해수욕장), clearly visible from the latter. Over the past years, both beaches turned into excessive commercial areas and became heavy motors for the city‘s tourism, attracting mostly Korean, Japanese, Chinese and Russian travelers.

The building is also home to a fish market that provides the prosperous inhabitants of Busan, like those living in the Hyundai I’Park building, with Korean style raw fish (hoe, 회), a pricey delicacy that is similar to Japanese sashimi.

The artist

Hendrik Beikirch (b. 1974) is a German painter well known for his series of large monochromatic wall paintings that often show portraits of older people, visibly marked by life. In order to create these works, Beikirch secretly takes sketches of strangers whom he encounters on his travels, noticing them for their aura and expression between hope and struggle. This inspired the title of his on-going series “Faces of Hope and Struggle” and runs seamlessly on the canvases of Beikirch, which mostly displays the same frontal view of unfamiliar people. He deliberately distances himself from the polished and artificial aesthetic of advertising, which has now occupied major parts in public space.

Beikirch always works with a reduced color palette, and therefore the high recognition factor ensures that viewers now can easily find walls by him all over Europe, Canada, the USA, Mexico, Chile, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Russia and other countries, all painted in the last 15 years.

Partners

This project would not have been possible without the support of The Busan Cultural Foundation, The Arts Council Korea, Busan Metropolitan City, Indie Culture Network AGIT and Suyeong Local Government. MBC, the oldest and one of the major commercial Korean broadcasting companies, is the main media partner.